JMuse draws crowd for nuclear talk

From BreezeJMU.org: JMuse draws crowd for nuclear talk

Sara Williams, assistant director of public services at Carrier Library and JMuse Café logistics coordinator, told her colleagues to be happy if 20 students attended the first JMuse discussion and to be thrilled if 35 attended.

Williams wasn't prepared for about 75 students to crowd in the flex space of East Campus Library on Wednesday night for JMuse Café, an event involving professors and students discussing the safety of nuclear power.

The topic, "After Fukushima, What About Nuclear Power?," was sparked by the full meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Dalichi nuclear power plant following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in March.

Steve Whisnant, head of the physics department, discussed the scientific background and implications of nuclear power.

"Nuclear reactors have such promise because we have a way to produce this energy very efficiently," Whisnant said, "but they are also very scary because you have the radiation left around."

Kevin Borg, a history professor, argued that nuclear power is an inherently political technology.

"The fact that nuclear power evens exists ... either as bombs or to generate electricity requires a huge state project," Borg said.

Faculty discussion leaders picked a subtopic, and students divided into groups based on what they would like to discuss. Subtopics included future implications of nuclear power and the environmental effects of nuclear power.

Paula Kiser, a reference assistant at Carrier, presented her group's views on nuclear power. She believes a decision made on nuclear power should be decisive and final.

"People need to make a decision and stop complaining about it," Kiser said.

The purpose of the event was to give people different viewpoints and to raise intelligent questions on the subject.

"Answers start with good questions and a good view," Williams said. "That's what we provided."

Amanda Martensen, a junior anthropology major, said she had some general knowledge about nuclear power before the event, but she learned a lot from JMuse Café.

"I really enjoyed the discussions and hearing everyone's different viewpoints," Martensen said.

Williams has plans to change some aspects of JMuse in the long-term. She would like to have student interns working for the program and for locals to become involved in these discussions. She also wants to bring in guest scholars.

"If we talk to people who are living these things every day it will help us understand the entire spectrum,"Williams said.

She's impressed with what she saw at the first event.

"It makes you feel really good about where you work that the students are of this caliber," Williams said.

The next JMuse Café event is held Nov. 11, and the tentative topic is "Public Funding for Pure Science and the Arts: How Much is Enough?"